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

Francia. THE .CLXXXI. CHAPITER.

CHarlys surnamed the symple, & sonne of Lewys the .iiii. or Ryen Fayzand / began hys reygne ouer the Frenche∣men, in the yere of our lordes incar∣nacyon, as wytnessyth Iacob{us} Phi∣lippus and other .ix. hundred & .iiii / and the thyrde yere of Edwarde the elder than kynge of Englande. In tyme of whose reygne the Danys, whyche contynuelly ouer the terme of .l. wynters / that is to saye from y^e x. yere of Charlys the Ballyd som∣tyme kynge of Fraunce, vnto y^e sayd dayes, had wasted and spoyled the lande, not wythstandyng y^e agremen¦tes made bytwene Charlys the em∣perour and them, as before in y^e story of the .iiii. Lewys is shewed: yet they wyth greate hostes aryued in the coū¦tre of Neustria or Normandy, & rob∣bed and spoyled the countre before them, and slewe the people thereof wythout pytye / and from cytye to cy∣tye kepte on theyr iourney tyll they came vnto the cytye of Roan. wherof the bysshop beynge in greate drede, of subuersyon of the cytye and de∣struccyon of the crysten people wyth in the same / delyuered the cytye by appoyntment, that he wyth y^e people myghte departe thens wythout bo∣dely harme / whyche vnto the sayde Danys was a greate strength, and hurte to the lande of Fraunce.

Of thys hoste of Danys was ru∣ler and leder a myscreaunt named Rollo / the whyche was a man of lowe byrthe, but he was of greate strength. The whyche whan he had a season rested hym and hys hoste, & refresshed them wythin the cytye of Roan / he than set forth hys waye, cō¦maūdyng hys vawnewarde to kepe theyr iourney towarde Parys. And for y^e more spede to be made / he shyp¦ped hys Danis ryght there / and one parte he sent by the ryuer of Sean, the seconde by the ryuer of Lyger or Leyr, and the thyrde by the water Geronde.

Than the Danys that passyd by the ryuer of Leyr came at length to the cyte of Nauntes / and wan that cytye by strength, and slewe therin moche people. And the byshop of the same named Guymerte beynge at masse, they slewe at the aulter. And whan they had spoyled that cytye & the countre there about / than yode they to the cytye of Angiers, & brent and robbyd it most cruelly. And that done they yode vnto Towres, and layde syege to that cytye. The which by the presens of the holy body of saynt Martyne, whych at that tyme was wythin y^e cytye / it was a whyle preserued. But soone after the mun∣kes feryng the sworde of the Danys fled the cytye secretly, and toke the body wyth them. And soone after the Danes had the towne at theyr wyll / and brent the abbay before the town or stādynge without the towne / and spoyled and robbed the cytye & tow∣nes thorough the countre of Guyan.

whan the Danys had thus sub∣dued the more parte of Neustria or Normandy. They wyth theyr duke Rollo by y^e ryuer of Seyn̄ drewe to∣warde Parys. And fyrst entred the landes of Burgoyne and Auerne & in effecte to Senons. wherof heryng

the monkes of the monastery of Flo¦ry, where the body of saynte Benet than rested, they toke that holy trea∣soure and bare it vnto Orlyaunce / & layde it in the chyrche of saynt Any∣an, tyll the persecucyon were ouer passed.

Of thys monastery was at that dayes lyuynge a defensour by pro∣myse before made, whose name in la¦tyne is called Sigillosus, & in Frēch Sigillophes an erle / whych was ta∣ken for patrone of the same abbaye. To whom in the nyght folowynge that the monkes were fled, as before is sayd / saynt Benet appered, & bla∣med hym y^t he none other wyse had defended y^e place of hys Sepulture. wyth whych visyon the sayd erle be∣ynge feryd / gaderyd vnto hym vpon the daye folowyng such small power as he than myghte make, & set vpon the Danys and draue them backe, & slewe of them a great nomber. And y^e prayes that he there wan, he offered to god and saynte Benet / by whose prayers he knewe well that he optey¦ned that vyctory.

In tyme y^t the Danys thus per∣secuted the countre of Fraunce, and the kynge was not of power them to resyst / for so mych as Charles knew well that the bysshop of Roan na∣med Franke, was in good fauour of Rollo: he therfore sent hym in am∣bassade to the sayd Rollo, to requyre a trewe or trewse for thre monethes / the whych was graūted. The which trewse ended, the sayd Rollo beseged the cytye of Chartrys. Duryng whi∣che syege / the duke of Burgoyne na∣med Richarde wyth hys retynue as∣sayled the Danys. In tyme of which fyght Ebalde erle of Poytowe was present, and draue backe y^e Danys. wherwyth the bysshop of the cytye beynge encoraged / toke wyth hym y^e smocke of our lady, whyche at those dayes was kepte there wyth greate reuerence / and wyth the cytesyns & other issued out of the cytye, & made vpon the Danys a great scomfyture So that by the prowesse of the fore∣sayde two temporall lordes, and as∣systens of this spyrituall man / Rollo was compelled to fle and forsake his siege, & not without huge slaughter.

Rollo then hauynge greate dys∣dayne and dyspleasure of thys ouer¦throwe and scumfyture of hys Da∣nys / reassembled them that were a∣brode scatered, and cōmaunded thē to ouer ryde the countre, and to de∣stroye it in all that they myght. After whych cōmaundement thus to them gyuen / this cruell people slewe man, women, & chylde, that were not apte to do to them seruyce / and brent the chyrches and temples, and rauyshed virgyns as well religious as other / So that miserable it was to beholde the greate abhomynacyon of these tyrannous Danys, that brent, rob∣bed; and slewe that innocent people wythout mercy.

The lordes and comons thus be∣set with cruell fury of theyr enmyes, assembled them by sondry cōpanyes and went vnto the kynge / shewynge vnto hym theyr mysery, and blamed as they durste hys ferefulnesse and negligence, that he nor none for hym otherwyse wythstode the crueltye of the Danys / that hadde destroyed a greate parte of hys lande.